Bourne selectman seeks route around traffic apps

Ethan Genter @EthanGenterCCT

Sunday

Jan 28, 2018 at 7:15 PMJan 29, 2018 at 6:21 AM

Town officials to look into ways to discourage back road shortcuts.

BUZZARDS BAY — Bourne Selectman Peter Meier has asked the town administrator and police chief to take a look at what can be done to stop drivers from clogging back roads in the town, a headache residents say is growing worse.

Meier asked them to look into the alternative mapping apps, such as Waze and Google Maps, that offer drivers different routes based on traffic.

“You’ve got residents complaining, ‘I can’t get out of my driveway,’” he said. Meier pointed to towns such as Mansfield, home to the Xfinity Center, a popular concert venue. To stop concertgoers from taking shortcuts through local neighborhoods, the town has blocked off roads before and after shows to try to fool the apps, according to local reports.

“I want to see what they did,” Meier said.

Known as the doorstep to Cape Cod, Bourne seemingly goes hand in hand with traffic. But in the past few summers, residents say, traffic apps have been pushing drivers away from the main roads and into small neighborhoods in search of a faster way to their destination, whether it be on or off the Cape.

Residents have complained that traffic can get backed up on smaller roads such as Puritan Road, St. Margarets Street, Head of the Bay Road and side streets that shoot off from them. This can leave them unable to leave their homes to get across town for hours.

Meier said he wanted to know if the apps could possibly take small residential roads off their mapping systems.

“It can’t hurt to ask,” he said.

Town Administrator Thomas Guerino said he and Police Chief Dennis Woodside would look into the topic, adding that traffic in the summer can turn into a “horror show.”

“We’ve just got to be able to make sure the streets are safe for the kids and the seniors,” Guerino said.

— Follow Ethan Genter on Twitter: @EthanGenterCCT.

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